Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is continuing its controversial government slashings as it doubles down on their promise to cut down government spending. The latest victim in this quest: a watchdog office that protected unaccompanied migrant children.
The Unaccompanied Children Office of the Ombuds, an oversight body inside the US Department of Health and Human Services, got much of its staff laid off in the latest DOGE cuts.
The watchdog office is tasked with conducting site visits to facilities where children were held, receiving complaints from children, sponsors and other stakeholders about custody conditions and ensuring that HHS complies with the law. The office was created in July as part of a successful Biden administration effort to free the federal government from nearly three decades of court oversight over how it cares for those children.
Four people were laid off, according to Bloomberg, including Mary Giovagnoli, who led the office. She expressed faith in the three staffers left, while also calling the cuts "crippling" in a recent interview.
But although DOGE cut a significant portion of the staff, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the office remains open, staffed and will maintain its independence.
"HHS is following the administration's guidance and taking action to support the president's broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government," Nixon said in a statement. "This is to ensure that HHS better serves the American people at the highest and most efficient standard."
Gutting the office puts its ability to hold the government accountable at risk, according to Giovagnoli. "It undermines the government's commitment to ensuring the protection of kids," she continued. "It completely flies in the face of the supposed concern of the safety and well-being of children."
Most children who cross the border without their parents are held in custody by the Office of Refugee Resettlement until they can be placed with relatives or vetted guardians. Those minors are held by the HHS office instead of in adult detention centers by US immigration authorities because of rules established by a 1985 court case. Prior to the case, children were subject to strip searches, deprived of outdoor activity and treated like adults in custody, according to Bloomberg.
The move comes after the Trump administration ordered another office geared at protecting children to stop their work.
The Department of Interior sent the order, dated Tuesday, to the Acacia Center for Justice, a nonprofit that says it assists nearly 26,000 children in and released from Office of Refugee Resettlement custody.
"The administration's decision to suspend this program undermines due process, disproportionately impacts vulnerable children, and puts children who have already experienced severe trauma at risk for further harm or exploitation," Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, said in a statement.
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